Bereaved wife ‘can still see the headlights’
When Alison Marsh woke in her car after a crash, she looked over to her husband Coleman Junior Marsh. His eyes closed, her first thought was: ‘‘Are you OK?’’
The true gravity of the situation only came to light when she noticed the blood around his mouth, she told the Palmerston North District Court yesterday.
As Marsh read her victim impact statement to the court, 25-year-old Amber Rose Te Kumeroa Wharepapa propped herself up in the dock on a crutch.
Wharepapa, who had earlier pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death and injury, was sentenced to three months of community detention. She was also ordered to pay $5000 reparation and disqualified from driving for 15 months.
The crash happened on State Highway 2 just outside of Dannevirke on April 19, after Wharepapa crossed the centre line. She had driven through the night to take a friend, Cody Kaiwai, on a round trip from Palmerston North to Raupunga in Hawke’s Bay. Kaiwai suffered a broken jaw in the crash, while Coleman Marsh was pronounced dead at the scene.
Defence lawyer Mark Alderdice said Wharepapa took breaks at Waipukurau each time she went through there and had about 30 minutes of rest in Raupunga. Although Wharepapa did not know exactly what happened, police determined it was most likely she fell asleep before crossing into the path of the Marshes.
Alison Marsh said she suffered multiple injuries and may still need surgery for damage to a shoulder. But it was the emotional toll that weighed the most. She still had nightmares about the crash and ‘‘periods of distress’’, she said.
‘‘I can still see those headlights coming towards us.’’
She visits her husband’s grave each day. ‘‘I wake up every morning knowing I will never have my kind, loving husband again.’’
Alderdice said Wharepapa
The crash happened on State Highway 2 just outside of Dannevirke.
was deeply sorry and wanted the opportunity to undertake restorative justice post-sentencing. She was working only a couple hours a week due to the injuries she suffered in the crash and had started seeing a psychologist.
Judge Stephanie Edwards said it was not a momentary lapse of concentration that caused the crash. ‘‘Given the time of night and length of the return trip, you must have been aware of the risk of fatigue.’’ Usually someone in Wharepapa’s position would be sentenced to hundreds of hours of community work but that was not possible due to her injuries, the judge said. She would only be able to do light duties, which were not guaranteed at community work.
The disqualification period was longer than usual, because of previous driving convictions, the judge said. Those convictions were for drink-driving in 2013 and driving while disqualified for that drink-driving.